Internet Connectivity Propelling Blu-ray Sales

Sales of Blu-ray players have begun to pick up, and you can thank
Internet connectivity and changing TV watching patterns for the shift.

Shipments of the players tripled in 2009, though they still lag far
behind DVD players, mainly because they're far more expensive. But as
more people seek new and different ways to watch their favorite television shows and movies,
whether via Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Boxee or other means, the players'
network connectivity becomes more attractive and makes the price more
scalable, according to a report by In-Stat.

Some key findings of the report:

Shipments of network-enabled
Blu-ray players/recorders will approach 80 million units by 2013.
(Still slightly less than DVD players by volume, but quadruple the
revenue because of the retail price.)

18% of US survey respondents with at least some interest in purchasing
a Blu-ray player cited cost as a barrier.

Japan dominates the market for Blu-ray recorders. Europe is the
largest revenue market for Blu-ray players.

Several brands of Blu-ray player already are able to stream video
directly from Netflix, eliminating the need for consumers to connect a
computer to their television. Internet connectivity also potentially
will enable the players to stream video from other sources, such as
YouTube, Vimeo and Boxee, the latter of which offers its own TV box to
stream its offerings.

So while the content producers (the networks and studios) and the
content providers (the cable and satellite companies) are living in
fear of consumers skipping the traditional means of getting their
entertainment, the device manufacturers aren't too concerned.
Especially seeing as most manufacturers of DVD players also produce
Blu-ray players.

"The consumer electronics makers are really the only ones who don't
have anything to lose if consumers switch," Forrester Research
analyst James McQuivey told Advertising Age. "Everyone else is conflicted."